Lady Blues win 40th straight, holding off Griffons

Feb. 1, 2006

Box Score | Season Stats

TOPEKA - The No. 1 ranked Washburn Lady Blues recorded their 40th straight win and 34th straight in Lee Arena pulling away from Missouri Western late with an 84-71 win. The win lifted Washburn to 21-0 and 10-0 in the MIAA while the Griffons fell to 14-7 and 4-6 in conference play. Washburn remains at home for a Saturday evening encounter with Missouri Southern with the tip going up at 5:30 p.m.

Both teams were hot early hitting shots from all over the field as Washburn jumped out to the early 12-7 lead just two-plus minutes into the game. The Griffons rallied to cut the lead to one on several occasions, but Washburn would go on a 10-3 run to build their biggest lead of the first half at eight with 11:24 remaining holding a 24-16 lead. Western responded with a 20-7 run over the next five minutes to take a five point lead on a Brandi Rodgers' 3-pointer. After a Washburn timout, Washburn added four straight points by Jennifer Harris and back to back 3-pointers by Brooke Ubelaker and April Roadhouse with a Western 3-pointer by Renata deAlmeida sandwiched in between as the teams were deadlocked at 41 at the break.

In the second half, the Griffons cooled from their 59 percent first half shooting to 39 percent in the second half as both teams traded leads in the second half five times with nine score ties.The Griffons largest lead in the second half was at 58-54 with 14:15 left,. With the score tied at 59 with 12:44 remaining, Washburn took the lead for good on an Amanda Holmes lay up. The Griffons cut the lead back to two at 67-65 with 4:52 left, but Washburn went on a mini 6-0 run to push the game out of reach, building the margin to 15 late in the second half. Washburn was 7 of 8 from the free throw line the final 1:27 of the game holding on for the 84-71 win.

Jennifer Harris led the Lady Blues with 35 points hitting 14 of 15 from the free throw line in 35 minutes of action. She scored19 points in the second half. Brooke Ubelaker scored 18 points.

Western was led by Tiffany Davis who recorded the first triple-double in the MIAA since Jamie Blakely from Emporia State accomplished the feat on Jan. 31, 2001 against Northwest Missouri. Davis led the Griffons in scoring with 18 points with game-highs in rebounds with 14 and assists with 11.

Washburn converted 20 Western turnovers into 16 points while shooting 46 percent in the second half.